No Love for the Wicked (32 page)

I’d been thinking about him when I’d fallen asleep, hoping he would show himself again. He’d left so quickly last time; I took a moment to study him. In his features, I saw the different pieces of my family: my father, my uncles, my brothers. He didn’t even look as old as Father, and certainly not old enough to be my grandfather, but he had always felt like just another part of me. I realized now that’s exactly who he was.

“You’re my grandfather, aren’t you?”

He smiled. “Yes, Magnolia. I am.” My dream grew a little brighter as he strolled closer. “When I began visiting you here in your dreams, it was because I’d felt a sudden spike of new power in my bloodline, one that I’d never felt in someone other than myself. This golden power that’s inside you now—no one else in my lineage has ever managed to develop it. Until that moment when it revealed itself inside you, I didn’t even know you existed.”

“You mean you didn’t know about me before?” It was the question that burned inside me more than any other: had this man, who had only ever shown interest in me and had never once tried to hurt or intimidate me, known about my life of hell all those years on the estate?

“No, I didn’t know. I can feel the power of my bloodline as it grows. I felt when each of my sons was born, even though I wasn’t present at their births. And I felt when they had children of their own, so in that sense I knew grandchildren existed. My own power grew stronger with each new offspring. But I never followed the events of their lives. There never seemed to be a reason to. Until you.”

So he didn’t need proximity to his bloodline to feel the strength of it. He could just feel the growing power of his family wherever he was. That must be nice.

“Why weren’t you there when your sons were born?”

“Their human mother was enough to raise them. There was no need for me to be there as they matured. After all, it was their power that mattered. Their existence was enough to fuel me. What they did or didn’t do with their lives was of no consequence.” He said it with such nonchalance that I couldn’t help but cringe. As different as this man seemed from the rest of my family, when it came to paternal responsibility, he was exactly the same.

“So the only reason you had children was to grow your power?”

He looked down on me with subtle confusion. “Power is everything.”

And there it was. The very heart of where I came from. I couldn’t argue with him—I’d had that very thought on more than one occasion. Most recently while lying in bed with Theo, letting the power around us become our life force, sustaining us as it grew. It was the start of that power with Theo that had brought Grandfather to me in the first place.

“But you were right, Magnolia,” he said with an excited gleam in his eye. “There is more inside you than in your father or siblings. You have found the means not only to hone the darkness, but to embrace and fuel the light as well.”

He looked out over the bloody sea. “Hatred, pain, rage—the power of these things will always flow through you, crashing in their violence and making you stronger.” As if responding to his words, the blood of my dream ocean instantly boiled to life, rising high in tsunami-like waves. Just as quickly it settled back down. He turned to the golden shoreline, the long stretch of land behind us. “But it is the love you have discovered yourself capable of and the love you have accepted from others that has become your foundation. With the balance of the two, your powers have the potential to be truly limitless.”

I looked back out over the sea, then down at the reflection of my twin. Grandfather watched me. Questions suddenly raced through my mind. What was he? Where had he come from? Was he evil? Where was he located outside this dream? I had so many questions…

“And I will answer them all,” he said, addressing my unspoken thoughts. “I never meant to deceive you. I’ve enjoyed our visits, enjoyed getting to know you. I hope our conversations will continue in the future.”

I thought over our many dreamed talks, the interest he’d always shown in me. He’d said on his last visit that he wanted me to trust him. Now I knew I really wanted that too.

“I’d like to keep visiting with you like this,” I said. “Visiting in my dreams.” Then I studied him closer. “You didn’t love my grandmother or your sons—you were only interested in the power they gave you. How is it, then, that you can recognize this golden energy inside me?”

He shrugged. “Your grandmother approached me with a proposition of power, one that would best serve us both. She wanted the most powerful offspring possible, and I wanted to strengthen my bloodline. Though completely human, she had a deep darkness inside her, and I recognized the potential of
strengthening that side of me through her. It was never about any emotion.”

“So your dark powers are your strongest because we came from her?”

“Not at all. Just because I never felt those things for her or her sons, it doesn’t mean those feelings aren’t a large part of me. Just like you, the vastness of my darkness is very much shared by the vastness of my light. Power is power, Magnolia. And now that you have unlocked the light inside you, you will have the ability to wield both as you see fit.” He smiled warmly. “It has been a very long while since I have spent time with another who shared my powers so closely. I would very much enjoy helping you to grow in your abilities.”

There was such sincerity in his gaze, I couldn’t help but smile back. Then he sighed and stepped away. “Unfortunately, at the moment, I haven’t the time for much more of a visit. I only came here tonight to make sure you would be open to more visits in the future.”

A breeze whipped my hair as I frowned. “You can’t stay? But there’s so much I want to know.”

He knelt down and patted my hand. It was such a grandfatherly gesture, the landscape of my dream glowed brighter.

“I will be back, Magnolia. And we will talk, and you will learn. Although, I have to admit, you seem to be doing very well on your own. Your control is astounding. Your power, magnificent.”

The glow around me was nearly blinding as the pride he so obviously felt in me shone in his eyes. My grandfather, the source of my everything, was proud of me. Even in my dream, my smile was so wide it ached. He got to his feet, and my smile vanished. How long would I have to wait to see him again and start getting some of my answers?

“Not long,” he answered. “I just have a few matters that require my attention right now.”

Suddenly his eyes flashed red, just as mine did whenever I transformed. He smiled, and his mouth had grown wide, full of sharp, razor-like teeth. It was exactly the way I looked when I transformed. But instead of being horrifying or monstrous like I always pictured myself after the change, he was beautiful. Ethereal and radiant.

His voice didn’t fit the appearance, though. He sounded as eloquent as ever as he said, “Apparently my sons have taken it upon themselves to become involved in matters that don’t concern them. The tools they are tracking won’t lead them to me, of course, but their efforts may very well become a problem that I don’t wish to deal with. You see, even if they discovered the origin of their gifts, they would never be able to realize its fullest potential, not without the ability to realize the light side of our powers. In their quest to do so, however, they may very well get themselves killed.”

“You’ll kill them?” I asked, not sure if I was hopeful or frightened by the idea.

“Of course not,” he replied, waving away the idea with a clawed hand. “But there are others that will. As powerful as your family is, there are always more powerful creatures out there—creatures that your Network hasn’t even discovered yet. I’m not willing to lessen my bloodline’s power just because my greedy offspring poke around those who don’t wish to be disturbed.”

Creatures more powerful than my family. Thirteen would most definitely be interested in that. I was trying to imagine how this new information might change the direction of our current assignment when a horrible thought occurred to me.

The golden sky darkened as I asked, “What if someone from the Network kills my father or uncles? Would you kill my team?” My vision turned red as I had a quick fantasy of Theo taking on my father, overpowering him with the abilities our connection
had given him. No way I’d let Grandfather retaliate against Theo just for weakening his bloodline.

Grandfather’s lips twitched like he was holding back a laugh. “Your Network serves its purpose policing those supernaturals arrogant enough to reveal themselves and their powers to the human world. If your father or uncles are so inept as to get themselves killed by a human agency like that, then their power wasn’t worth the blood in their veins anyway.” I relaxed. “Now, my dear Magnolia,” he said with a slight tilt of his head. “Until next time.”

His smile changed then, turned violent in a way that made everything in my dream go still. The sea, the breeze, my twin, everything stopped as I stared at this most powerful, most dangerous being.

Then just like that, he was gone. The breeze picked back up as movement returned to the sea.

For a long moment I sat there, absorbing the revelations Grandfather had left me with. How incredibly ironic that in Father and Uncle Max’s quest for greater power, they had turned away from what apparently could give more than anything imaginable. Love. I thought of Father’s Marlena. Things would have been so different if he’d just been able to love her like I loved Theo.

I’d never shared these dreams with anyone else before, but tomorrow, I’d talk to Theo, tell him everything about this place, about my twin and my grandfather. After all, the foundation of my power was love now. Sharing could only strengthen it.

I’d also tell Thirteen what Grandfather had said about more powerful beings existing that the Network wasn’t yet aware of. I couldn’t imagine him actually doing anything about it—I mean, if these beings were a real threat, he would have already known about them.

But all that would happen tomorrow. Tonight, I slept warmly in the arms of the man I loved, a man whose love for me grew my
powers to a level that changed who I was for the better. I had a team of friends who accepted me and trusted me. And now I had a real member of my family who was truly interested in me. He would continue to talk to me, answer my many questions, and visit me again in this safe place. Our paths would cross in real life one day, either through a Network assignment or through some other means, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t happen until both of us were ready.

I reached out to touch my fingertips back to my twin’s and returned her smile. I wasn’t evil and I wasn’t good. I was powerful, with the potential to do so much with both. Glancing around the crimson-and-gold landscape, I felt surer of myself than ever before.

And for once, I was much too at peace not to lie back and simply smile.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank you, the reader. Thank you for spending some time with Magnolia in all her beautiful, dysfunctional glory. She is very dear to my heart, and as she continues to grow, I can’t thank you enough for coming along for the ride.

I would also like to thank Amazon Publishing, 47North, and the many people who worked so hard to bring
No Love for the Wicked
to life. Most especially, I’d like to thank Maria, Jayne, and Patrick—your constant communication and support are more than I could have ever hoped for in a publishing team.

Speaking of teams, my eternal gratitude will forever be sent to the incredible people at New Leaf Literary. Kathleen, Suzie, Danielle, and the miracle worker herself, Jo—I hit the jackpot, won the lotto, and found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow the day I signed with this incredible agency. I thank my lucky stars every
time I send in another round of edits that they are still willing to work with me.

I’d also like to send a special thank-you to my dad’s crazy old roommate—your encouragement and insight is more appreciated than you know.

Finally, I’d like to send my loving thanks to those who are always with me, whether it be in my created worlds or my real one: Molly, my always reader. Mark, my always inspiration. Sarah and Cathy, my always supporters. Stephanie and Amy, my always cheerleaders. J and R, my always foundation. And Brian…my always. Thank you.